KOBE -- A woman was arrested here on July 5 on suspicion of letting cockroaches loose in a local supermarket.

The woman, a 56-year-old office worker at a municipal primary school, is accused of forcible obstruction of business for allegedly scattering between 11 and 19 cockroaches around the seafood section of the supermarket in Kobe's Tarumi Ward on June 26. She is suspected of launching the insectile assault to degrade the supermarket's sanitary conditions and otherwise damage its business. The woman has apparently denied the allegations.

Supermarket staff spotted the six-legged invaders immediately and reviewed store security camera video footage to find out what had happened. The camera apparently captured the suspect leaving behind a plastic bag. A store employee reported the incident when the woman returned to the supermarket on July 4.

According to police, the woman has said that she collected cockroaches that gathered near her cat's food, adding, "I only left them there (in the store) to keep them alive. I wasn't targeting the supermarket."